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3rd AG - Comments on Oatmeal Stout

dharch

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Location
San Antonio, Texas
This will be my 3rd AG.... IPA first and honey brown ale second.  No disasters so far just tweaking here and there.

Any comments/suggestions on the recipe below?  I appreciate the feedback. 

Thanks!

BeerSmith 2 Recipe Printout - http://www.beersmith.com
Recipe: Organic All American Oatmeal Espesso Stout
Brewer: David Holland
Asst Brewer:
Style: Oatmeal Stout
TYPE: All Grain
Taste: (30.0)

Recipe Specifications
--------------------------
Boil Size: 7.16 gal
Post Boil Volume: 6.66 gal
Batch Size (fermenter): 5.50 gal 
Bottling Volume: 5.00 gal
Estimated OG: 1.054 SG
Estimated Color: 27.3 SRM
Estimated IBU: 27.0 IBUs
Brewhouse Efficiency: 68.00 %
Est Mash Efficiency: 79.1 %
Boil Time: 60 Minutes

Ingredients:
------------
Amt                  Name                                    Type          #        %/IBU       
5.00 gal              San Antonio Water                        Water        1        -           
9 lbs 8.0 oz          Organic 2-Row, Premium - Great Western ( Grain        2        79.2 %       
1 lbs                Organic Oat Flakes (1.4 SRM)            Grain        3        8.3 %       
8.0 oz                Organic Caramel Malt 90-120L - Briess (1 Grain        4        4.2 %       
8.0 oz                Organic Chocolate Malt 350L - Briess (35 Grain        5        4.2 %       
8.0 oz                Organic Roasted Barley - Briess (375.0 S Grain        6        4.2 %       
1.50 oz              Organic Goldings [6.00 %] - Boil 60.0 mi Hop          7        27.0 IBUs   
1.0 pkg              Yorkshire Square Ale Yeast (White Labs # Yeast        8        -           
1.0 pkg              Yorkshire Square Ale Yeast (White Labs # Yeast        9        -           
9.00 oz              Organic Espresso (Secondary 0.0 mins)    Flavor        10      -           


Mash Schedule: Single Infusion, Medium Body
Total Grain Weight: 12 lbs
----------------------------
Name              Description                            Step Temperature    Step Time   
Mash In          Add 4.25 gal of water at 165.6 F        152.0 F            60 min       
Mash Out          Add 2.10 gal of water at 206.2 F        168.0 F            10 min       

Sparge: Fly sparge with 2.75 gal water at 168.0 F
Notes:
------
 
Looks good to me. I'd drink it. The lack of late addition hops will allow the malt to shine through, as it should for this style. Goldings are my favorite ale hop. I like the earthy character and lack of spiciness. Personally I would cut the chocolate malt and roasted barley in half, but that's just me. The recipe you've got will make a black beer with some bitterness from the blackened malt. If that's what you like, then roll with it. If you want less of the bitter and astringent qualities that the dark malts impart, cutting them down to six or even four ounces each will still make a dark colored brew, but with less pucker. The espresso leads me to think you're aiming for something that will make you squish your face. Regardless, it looks like a good beer.
 
Hi David, That's funny I was going to suggest going with a bit more roasted barley as the name implies a bit more than what you have. But that's homebrewing everybody has their own idea of what it should be and nobody is wrong!

Personally I would use a bit more hops as I find I get a bit less bitterness than BS says. This is no doubt due in part to ageing of the hops.  If I were brewing your fine recipe I would aim for about 40 IBU, but that's just me.

Good luck and tell us how it comes out.
 
Thanks all for the comments.  Yeah, I ended up skipping the coffee and just going with an oatmeal stout. This was my first oatmeal stout so I figured it would be best to keep it simple. 

Now for the dubble I brewed last Friday.  I made a yeast starter for this one and the krausen went crazy...thankfully I had a blowoff tube in place..turned my water yellow, of which I suspect the sediment on the bottom was yeast.  Sure smelled like it.

I was having trouble keeping the temp cool enough so I ended up clearing out some space in a 2nd fridge I had.  It was amazing to watch...the cooler it got the more activity I was seeing.  Literally the krausen was doubling in size with each hour, and as the temp dropped from high 70s to mid 60s.  Some incredible chemistry going on....

The thing that is surprising me is the uniform color of the krausen...I mean unlike my other brews which has the normal thick sediment on the sides this one is an off white an on day 3 is still like 3" tall.  I can see a lot of activity when i shine a light on the side of the fermenter but no real bubbling activity going on in the econo valve. 

Is this normal?

I did buy a pump and experimented with wort recirculation to increase my mash efficiency, and I also used it to recirculate my worth though a plate chiller...of the two the former was more successful IMO. 


 
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